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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Violated

Yesterday I received a message from a high school friend of mine that one of my photos on Flickr had been used without my permission on a huff post type article about my hometown. The photo wasn't bad and it's not like it was used as click bait or anything...but I feel so incredibly violated. I'm so glad that it was of me and not one of my kids. Alan thought it was hilarious because the photo is so me, but it wasn't funny to me. Not at all.

I posted on the site that it was used without my permission and the photo was taken down, thankfully. However, I got flamed for requesting it. I know that internet trolls are stupid, but some of the things that were said were pretty hurtful. I had to stop reading because it's not worth it.

I think people seem to forget that the people in those types of lists are real people and that it's all fun and games until it's a picture of you on one of those lists...one that how many thousands of people view and one that you had no idea was used. Feeling violated is such a horrible feeling.

I know that it happens all the time on the internet and that by having this blog I put myself out there - heck, Alan had most of his Master's thesis ganked by students at SCAD and put on a website they created. It could be worse, much much worse. But, I just honestly don't know if I can continue my blog after this. If I do, I know that some things will be done differently. Right now, I am finishing some commitments and then we'll see.

Oh, Holly, I HATE this for you! I'm so glad that it was taken down quickly--I'm sorry you had to go through that at all. :( I'm hoping that you don't quit your blog for completely selfish reasons (I like reading it!!) but I can understand if you do. You'll make the right decision!

It's frustrating! Those GIANT well known online travel review sites keep pulling my photos into their reviews. Not cool but not too much I can do about it without spending time I don't have. Really, it sucks, but it's part of all of this. Those sites should know better. If it's copyright protected, they can't use it without permission. Flickr certainly makes it easy to see if it is copyrighted or not. Ridiculous that big brands can get away with it! People leaving jerky comments are called "trolls" for a reason. They have too much time on their hands. Don't let it bother you. You Think Too Much, Indiana blogger, wrote a phenomenal article on race for Gawker...and you wouldn't believe the horrible comments she received. *I* had to stop reading them so I can only imagine how she felt! If you really want to get hyper into it, you can do what Indiana blogger Something Monumental does. You can't click on her photos or anything. It's protected. No one can peel your content. If you still share on Flickr, though, that is harder to stop.

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